UB Black Music Spotlight: Celebrating Jesse Powell

As with every Black Music Month, UB is presenting artist spotlight features, to celebrate great R&B artists!

The late singer/songwriter Jesse Powell, with the signature falsetto, was born in Gary, Indiana on September 12th, 1970, he passed away September 13th, 2022.

Jesse Powell began molding his singing style at the tender age of 7. “I had my first band then,” recalled Jesse Powell to Billboard.

He, along with his mother, brother, and sisters-singers/songwriters Trina and Tamara performed in and around their native Gary.

Jesse Powell called his music a throwback to the ’70s soul songs he heard and performed in those early days, noting, “That old soul vibe kind of captures [my sound] today.”

In 1993, Jesse met producer Carl Roland in Kansas City.

Upon their arrival in L.A., the duo began working together, which led to a deal with Silas/MCA.

“All I Need,” was the then 22-year old’s debut single, in the winter of 1996.

Silas Records president, the late great Louil Silas Jr. stated at the time, “Jesse’s been with the label since 1993, and we’ve been taking our time developing him because he’s got more than just singing talent. He’s an accomplished writer, too, as well as a dynamic live performer. So we wanted to be thorough in preparation for his debut – both on his side as an artist and on ours from a marketing perspective.”

Jesse‘s self-titled album presented a traditionally styled R&B landscape in which the he displayed original, smooth, and melodic tunes.

The album also contains two covers by ’70s group Enchantment: “Gloria” and “It’s You That I Need.”

Jesse Powell wrote the 1994 gold “Constantly,” hit by Immature, and worked with such acts as the Isley Brothers, Ray Parker Jr., and Angela Winbush.

Jesse Powell found the most challenging aspect of producing the album was finding and creating the right songs. “It took a lot of time because I wanted to record music that was true to my heart,” he stated. “I’m not into slang or trendy lyrics, but words that I can relate to.”

His debut was produced by an assortment of new and veteran talent, including Daryl Simmons, Mint Condition’s Keri “K.L.” Lewis and Stokley Williams, Laney Stewart, Carl Roland, and Track Masterz’s Red Hot Lover Tone and Jean “Poke” Oliver.

The result was an eclectic assortment of romance, laced tracks that appealed to a broad demographic.

Jesse Powell‘s debut album, also contained the sexy “Spend The Night” (which utilized Isaac Hayes’ “Do Your Thing” sample from “Shaft”) and an undiscovered nugget at the time in “You.”

In 1998, Jesse released the platinum “Bout It,” an album that further flexed his natural musical abilities.

In an unusual move, “You” was placed on the album because the powers at Silas/MCA Records felt the song had not received the attention it deserved the first time around.

Their intuition proved to be correct, as the song reached the top of the national charts and has since become a staple at weddings.

Jesse stated on “You;” “When people tell you that they’re gonna play the song at their wedding, that’s the biggest compliment anybody can give you as an artist.”

Comparing the experience of promoting his first album to promoting his second, Jesse stated, “I don’t think there’s much difference except now I have a hit. If you have an album with a song that’s charting, you do get treated differently. You get treated better. The attitude is like night and day.”

“You” was the Hot Shot Debut when it bowed at #14 on the Billboard Hot 100 in February of 1999.

“I Wasn’t With It” and “’Bout It,” were two more songs that established Jesse as an artist to be reckoned with, one who wasn’t just another “one-hit” performer.

His third album “JP,” explored the many unexplainable facets of love; the turmoil, the questions, the insecurities the uncertainties, the joyous headiness of life’s most enigmatic emotion.

Through words and music, he interpreted those twelve songs, with a wisdom and understanding of a man many years older.

The ballad heavy lineup of songs were written and produced by Jesse Powell, with the help of sister Tamara and producers Tim and Bob, Shep Crawford, and Damon Thomas.

The lead single “If I,” co-written with Tamara, was a ballad that ponders the future of a relationship. “It’s about when you get to that point where you’re not sure if the relationship’s going forward,” explains Jesse. “You’re hoping it’s not over, but you’ve done some things that maybe you shouldn’t have.”

Regardless of the climate change in R&B male artists, Jesse refused to change his style and image.

“I’m really trying to stay true to the songs, to always be Jesse. Lots of artists and record companies get with the big producers just for name’s sake. A lot of times when I listen to the radio, I can’t tell who’s singing what because people are trying to sing like other artists. However, there are some original artists out there. And if I have to be compared to anyone, I’d like to be compared to other artists who are being themselves.”

Jesse Powell released his final album entitled “Jesse” in 2003 and after the release of that album he retired from music.

Take A Trip Down Memory Lane with Jesse Powell!